1ST4 BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
08307681 · ltd · incorporated 2012-11-26
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Nov 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
34 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 100 | 100 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
1 signal detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-12📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-08-12📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-08-12📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-10-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-08-26📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-08-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-04📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2012-11-26🏢Company incorporatedAs 1ST4 BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED
- 2012-11-26➕WARD, John Joseph appointeddirector
Owner dependency
88/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 years.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
John Joseph Ward Individual · British · DOB 03/1965 · age 61 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Technology · CH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1705 DESIGN LIMITED→ 06858866 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| 20 WINSTON RECORDS LTD→ 14147241 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 22AUDIO LTD→ 14807745 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 24 RACING MEDIA LTD→ 12489761 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 240 DIGITAL LTD→ 10402841 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 27 ADVISORY LTD→ 11702538 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 3D HD PRINTS UK LIMITED→ 16079390 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 43 BRIDGE STREET LTD→ 16213120 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 484 PRODUCTIONS LTD→ 09064522 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| 528 DIGITAL LTD→ 14899977 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 8BCC LIMITED→ 13710406 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A BIT TOO LATE FILMS LTD→ 16116076 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
7 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →🔒Advanced scoring suite
Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2012-11-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities
Registered office
25 Brancote Road
Prenton
CH43 6TL
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-10
Last: 2025-11-26
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
WARD, John Joseph→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2012-11-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (34 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-08-12
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-08-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-10-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-10-11
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-08-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-29